The Cyclone softball team hopes to carry momentum from victories in the Crowne Plaza Classic into this weekend’s Charleston Southern Tournament.

The team got solid pitching from Alyssa Ransom and Amie Ford in the Crowne Plaza Classic, but errors proved to be costly in three of the five games. The offense overcame the errors in the two victories, however. The main problem is cutting down on the errors.

“Well, we definitely have to talk about it,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt. “It’s definitely something that is hurting us. We could live with one error, but it’s when we make the same mistake repeatedly that hurts us. We have to create some situations in practice where we can work on errors back-to-back, and when it gets to game time the players will feel more comfortable in those situations.”

Decreasing the number of errors is definitely the key to the Cyclones best chance of winning. The team would also be in good shape to let the pitching carry the load, as well, until the hitting improves. In the loss to Wichita State, Ford struck out 10 batters and gave up one earned run, but errors cost the Cyclones another five runs. Ford ranks fourth in the Big 12 with an earned run average of 1.07, and the team ranks third in the conference with an earned run average of 1.80. The Cyclones are batting .218 against right-handed pitching and .091 against left-handers.

A hidden jewel this early in the season has been the versatility of pitcher Katie Reichling, who has pitched, played third base and will see a lot more time in the outfield.

“That’s what happens when you’re a good athlete,” Gemeinhardt said. “We have taken Reichling out of her comfort zone, but that she will still pitch, just not the large amount of innings she threw last season.”

Gemeinhardt also said that it was good to see Reichling bounce back from errors and hit a home run, and account for the winning run in the last game against Texas State.

The Cyclones will be one team in a field of 15 in the Charleston Southern Tournament, which was won by the University of Tennessee last spring. The tournament is set up as three pools of five teams, and after single-elimination finals start Saturday evening, a champion is determined in the final game on Sunday. Other teams in Iowa State’s pool include Central Connecticut State, Vermont, Campbell University and hosting school Charleston Southern.

The Cyclones will be the first competition that Central Connecticut State and Vermont have seen this season. Campbell has lost its last two games and Charleston Southern has lost nine of its last 10 games.

The Cyclones open the tournament against Central Connecticut State at noon Friday, followed by a game against Vermont at 2 p.m. The team then faces Campbell at 9 a.m. Saturday and Charleston Southern at 3 p.m., and how well the team fares will determine who it plays when elimination starts at 7 p.m.